Facebook fined €110 million for 'misleading' European Union over WhatsApp takeover

Authorities in Europe fined Facebook $122 million for misleading officials about its ability to automatically combine data about its users with those of the messaging service WhatsApp.

The European Commission stated that the "proportionate" fine has been imposed to send a clear signal to all the firms that they must comply with EU competition rules.

The EC said it found out that contrary to statement made by Facebook in 2014 the technical possibility of matching automatically users' identities between Facebook and WhatsApp existed back in 2014 and the staff at Facebook had been aware of that possibility. Facebook, specialists say, is just the most recent in a long line of Silicon Valley organizations to face European administrative outrage, however this time, the focus is going to be majorly on the amount of online information accumulated, including data that Facebook gathers on both its clients and nonusers through external sites.

The European Commission said Facebook had informed its anti-trust body, in submissions ahead of the $19bn (£15.3bn) buyout, it would be unable to "establish reliable automated matching" between Facebook and WhatsApp user accounts. The Commission considered the infringements serious because they were prevented from having all relevant information for the assessment of the transaction. In a statement, Facebook claimed the errors were not intentional.

Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: "Today's decision sends a clear signal to companies that they must comply with all aspects of European Union merger rules, including the obligation to provide correct information".

FB, of course, denies intentionally lying to the EC, and gave what is essentially the multi-billion dollar corporation's version of "oops, we didn't mean to".

The fine - one of the biggest administrative punishments against Facebook - comes days after Dutch and French security guard dogs decided that the organization had broken strict information assurance rules.

According to the annual turnover rule, Facebook earned $276m in 2016 - so the fine could have been a lot more.

Well at least, the commission confirmed it would not impact on the results of the merger review so Facebook only lost some money and hardly made a dent in its financial status for the quarter from the global view. Taking into account Facebook's cooperation with the Commission's investigation into the matter, by inter alia waiving its right to have an oral hearing, the Commission ultimately imposed a fine of Euro 110 million on Facebook.

Share

Related Articles

The site said that Moynihan had planned on the 2016-2017 season to be his last, and was therefore free to pursue new projects. That would make Saturday night's season finale his final appearance as a regular cast member.

Luck was in United's favour as they are also one step away from making it to the Champions League in the next season. United put in an underwhelming performance at White Hart Lane, but Mourinho was nonetheless pleased with what he saw.

The statement said the US claims that they have warned the forces from advancing before firing are completely rejected. Iranian troops are said to be commanding the pro-Assad forces and a number of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.

Sony also announced this morning that the film will be released on October 5, 2018 and production will start this fall. It is written by The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Jeff Pinkner , along with Scott Rosenberg .

The second firefighter, who was part of the rescue team, was taken to University Hospital in Priority 2 condition. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said as his crews were inside, the structure collapsed, trapping Deem.

Indeed, eMarketer projects that most of the Snapchat's usage gains in the United States going forward will come from older users. One route Snapchat could take is acquisitions in the app space, buying up smaller but growing social apps that focus on groups.

But the story follows what " Big Bang Theory " viewers know to be true: Sheldon Cooper has always been in a class of his own. CBS's Young Sheldon will take a look at the life of the precocious preteen Sheldon and his family life back in Texas.

Latest news

NSA Told Microsoft of Flaw Before Ransomware Attack
After striking West Bengal Electricity utility, WannaCry ransomware has also struck Kerala's Wayanad Panchayat office. It appears that the malware doesn't attack Windows 10 machines, and it may also be sparing Windows XP machines.

AI And Other Key Takeaways From Google I/O 2017
But Pichai and Google co-founder Larry Page, now CEO of Google corporate parent Alphabet Inc, see it differently. The equivalent of Alexa's "skills", this feature lets users interact with third-party apps via the Assistant.

Joel Embiid has finally defined 'The Process'
Is LaVar bold enough to challenge Magic?LaVar Ball's influence not affecting Lonzo's draft stockA lot at stake for Lakers in dra. And when he represented the Sixers at the National Basketball Association draft lottery on Tuesday night, he let everyone know.

State Dept. summons Turkish ambassador over DC brawl
Jalal Kheirabadi, 42, of Fairfax, Virginia, charged with assaulting a police officer, refused treatment for cuts to his face. The protesters said they were demonstrating peacefully until Erdogan's guards and supporters suddenly moved toward them.

Melee erupts at Tennessee high school graduation - in church
One woman is handcuffed and sitting on the ground. "They got to fighting over a seat that the woman was saving for somebody else". It's still unknown if anyone involved will face charges. "I was completely defending myself, and I stand by it", Murphy said .

Is The Goal Still To Make Health Care Affordable?
President Donald Trump, a Republican who took office in January, campaigned on getting rid of the federal health care law. If you are contributing to an employer-provided health plan, you are paying for coverage that you may or may not need.

US aircraft strikes pro-Assad forces in Syria
According to the media outlet, US officials explain the strikes as "force protection" for the US Special Forces based in the area. The forces came within a 34-mile defensive zone around the at-Tanf base in southern Syria , according to the command.